According to a recent class action consumer lawsuit, that’s allegedly what Ulta Beauty, a multi-million-dollar cosmetics company, has been doing. When people return cosmetics to the company for a refund, for any reason, store employees were allegedly instructed by managers to repackage and re-seal the returned items, then put them back on the shelves to be resold.

The allegations started with a Twitter user who claims to be a former employee of Ulta. According to a series of tweets she posted, the alleged practice of repackaging and re-sealing used products extended to all the company’s products, from makeup to fragrance to haircare tools. After she posted these accusations, other Twitter users, also claiming to have worked for Ulta, jumped to back up her claims, while others rejected them.

While the social media storm was no doubt a PR nightmare for Ulta, the Bolingbrook-based company now has a bigger problem on its hands: a consumer class action lawsuit seeking to represent anyone who has ever purchased products from Ulta. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Chicago by Kimberley Laura Smith-Brown, who lives in Los Angeles and says she has bought dozens of Ulta products over the past six months, including eyeliner and lip balm.

While the complaint acknowledges that using cosmetics that have been opened and used by someone else is unsanitary, the lawsuit is more concerned with Ulta’s unjust enrichment as a result of this business practice. Aside from allegedly gaining the additional funds from selling the same products twice, the lawsuit also wants to sue Ulta for allegedly deceiving customers about the quality of the cosmetics they were buying. If Ulta’s products really were second hand, then they shouldn’t be charging full price for them, according to the lawsuit.

Launched in 1990, Ulta is currently selling everything from makeup to skincare and haircare in more than 1,000 stores all over the country, as well as on its website. In 2016, it reportedly brought in almost $5 billion in sales and had an approximate net income of $410 million. That would be catastrophic for the store to pay back if Smith-Brown is successful in pursuing her claims.

The beauty company released a statement denying the allegations and claiming that their policies and training are aimed at selling only products that are of the highest quality. Although Smith-Brown did not make the unsanitary conditions of used makeup a priority in her claim, Ulta did put it front and center in their public statement by assuring customers that their health and safety is a top priority for the company.

Although the health hazard that is posed by allegedly resealing and reselling used products did not appear to be at the top of Smith-Brown’s list of concerns, it will undoubtedly be a top concern for many other Ulta customers who may choose to join the lawsuit – and stop buying Ulta products in the future. For that reason, it made sense for Ulta to address the sanitary issue, even if it was not prominently raised in the complaint.

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